Far Away: Beck's Journey Home
by Gator-Girl1
Summary: What happened to Beck after the end of Season 2? This one-shot delves into Beck's journey to find his family.


Far Away: Beck's Journey Home

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: The name "Jericho" and all character names and trademarks associated with the television program are the intellectual property of Junction Entertainment, Fixed Mark Productions, CBS Paramount Television and/or CBS Studios, Inc. The following story is intended solely as an intellectual exercise without profit motive. No infringement of copyright is intended or should be implied.

Notes: This piece is based on "Far Away" by Nickelback. You are probably going have to "willingly suspend disbelief" a bit as this is farfetched piece of fluff. (Just ignore military protocols and Uniform Code of Military Justice). Also, this has absolutely nothing to do with my It's Not Over piece.

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_"So, Lieutenant Beck you'll be having your usual?" the petite young waitress asked in a perfect southern drawl. She gave him a big smile waiting for his answer._

"Of course, Vicky" Beck answered returning the smile. "What are you doing working on Christmas Eve? Shouldn't you be back home?"

"Well, Robbie asked me to stay an extra day in town and work the morning shift. I'm leaving for the break this afternoon," Vicky replied. "How about you? Got big plans for tonight?"

"Nah, I've got duty both today and tomorrow," he answered crossing his hands in front of him. He looked behind Vicky at the manager, Robbie, who was standing at a cash register near the entrance as more people started coming in.

Vicky looked behind her to see what Beck was looking at and saw her boss, a heavy set balding man, giving them a dirty look, "I'd better get your order in," she replied making a notation in her notepad.

As she walked to the kitchen to get Beck's coffee, he watched her making note of the beautiful sway of her hips adding that to the list of things that enthralled him about her. He'd been attracted to her the first time he'd come in and had made it a point to sit in her section every time so he could make conversation with her. In the three months of coming there, he'd learned a lot about Victoria Wentworth. She was twenty-one years old and a senior at the local university studying to be social studies teacher. She's the youngest of three kids with two older brothers and grew up on farm. She wanted to see the world, but she'd be happy to just get out of Missouri. She had the most beautiful blue eyes he'd ever seen and when she smiled he could feel his gut clench.

"Here's your coffee," Victoria said as she put down the cup and poured the coffee. "Food should be up in just a minute."

"Thanks Vicky," he answered giving her a big smile. He watched as she took the coffee pot with her. With everyone else, she always left the coffee pot on the table so that the customers could fill their cups up themselves, but with him, she always came back to fill it up herself. He took that as a hopeful sign that she was just as interested in him as he was in her. He wanted to ask her out on a date, but he was never sure exactly how to go about it. Beck had never been shy with women, but for some reason, he had trouble taking the next step with her.

As he was getting ready to leave, he looked at the bill and on the bottom of it was a note from Vicky with her number and the words "call me." He was surprised that a nice catholic girl like her would be that forward, but as he later learned when things needed to get done; she took control of the situation.

"Mister Edward Beck. Is there a Mister Edward Beck?" a female voice called out in the waiting room of the Red Cross information center.

Beck was startled from his thoughts and found his voice, "Right here."

"You can come back now," a haggard looking slightly overweight woman declared watching Beck get up from the uncomfortable folding chair that he'd been sitting in for over three hours and made his way to the door.

Beck followed the shabbily dressed woman past a series of offices to one at the end of the long hall. The woman motioned to have him enter and so he did. Looking around the office, the walls were bare white with a lone desk and two uncomfortable looking chairs metal framed chairs with sky blue plastic seats. The desk was bare except for a laptop computer and a travel mug that the woman behind the desk took a sip from as he walked in.

The woman, whom Beck assumed was the aid worker, looked to be in a blond woman in her mid-thirties who wore the thin, haggard facade of most of the people he'd met in Santa Fe. Beck stood inside the door watching the woman as she messed with her computer.

"Have a seat. Please give me your form and your ID," the lady behind the desk mechanically requested not looking up from her computer screen. He set the requested form and his Military ID on the desk in front of her and took a seat in one of two open chairs.

The woman looked down at the form and shook her head. "This form is not completely filled out," the woman complained with a slight southern accent. "You have a person on here without a first name or birth date. I need complete information in order to find anything out for you on that person."

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but I don't have the information. My wife was six months pregnant in September 2006. The baby was supposed to be a boy and was due in December of 2006," Beck explained. He silently prayed that the explanation would be enough for the woman.

"Alright, well, if it is an infant, then he or she will be listed with the mother anyway. Let me start searching the data base and see what I can find," the woman replied accepting Beck's explanation.

Beck sat and waited for the woman to see if she could do what J&R and the military had not been able to do and that was find out what had happened to his wife and children. Beck stared at the woman with the intent look he used to give people he interrogated. The woman seemed unphased.

Beck gave up on it and started thinking about how he got here. When he had arrived in Santa Fe two weeks ago, he had gone to his wife's cousin's house hoping to find her there, but the house, along with most of the neighborhood, had been abandoned. He then went to the Red Cross, but they only do these requests by appointment and there was a two week wait to get in. So, he bided his time and searched around Santa Fe hoping that maybe she was still in the area. He had finally found out that at least his wife had been alive six months ago. Her name was listed as the author of a newsletter article for the local Red Cross shelter giving advice on what to tell your children about what had happened. He knew the moment he saw the name and the topic that his wife had written it.

"Well, Mr. Beck, I have good news and I have bad news."

"Okay," he answered not sure what the woman meant.

"Victoria Beck, Megan Beck, and Edward Beck Junior were all alive as of five months ago. The bad news is that they are no longer in Santa Fe. They were relocated to Missouri. Here is your printout with their last known address and a voucher," the woman replied.

Beck smiled at the name of his son. He had a son. He was so distracted that he only heard the word voucher after that. "What's the voucher for?" Beck asked in confusion.

"It's a travel voucher. You take that down the hall and arrangements will be made to get you to Missouri."

"Are they okay? You say they were alive five months ago, but what happened to them since?"

"Sir, I don't have any other information. We are trying our best to get people out of these shelters and to their families. After that, I'm afraid we don't keep tabs."

"Thank you for your help, Ma'am," Beck replied politely.

"Here is your ID back. I'm surprised you're here. Shouldn't you be off fighting or something?" the woman asked in a non-bureaucratic tone. She gave him with a suspicious look.

"No. I'm retired," Beck replied taking the ID and putting it back into his wallet. He wasn't sure that "retired" was exactly the right word, but it was close enough. He had resigned his commission in disgust. He had been assigned to an area that was ASA loyal and had been given a mission to root out any and all insurgents fighting for the ASA in Western Nebraska. He had already been down this road once in New Bern and Jericho and knew that the kind of tactics they wanted him to use were not right and would only make things worse. He had refused and been given the option to either resign his commission or face court martial and so he walked away from a twenty year military career on principle. He hadn't even needed Heather Lisinski there to point out his mistakes. His wife would have been so proud.

"Well, good luck," the woman said not getting up from her desk and not showing any desire to know any more.

"Thanks," Beck replied looking down at the paper. He read the address. His wife was at her parent's home near West Plains, Missouri. He wasn't sure why he hadn't thought about heading in that direction first, but he really thought that she would be in Santa Fe. At least, he was finally going to find out what happened to his family.

_The only thing that Major Edward Beck was scared of was his wife. She was not going to be happy with the news he was bringing home. As he walked through the front door, the smells of dinner wafted through their house. As he looked around, the living room was filled with bags of plastic eggs and candy as it had been for the past week. Vicky along with a few of the other wives was putting together an Easter egg hunt for the kids on base. Along with managing the household and holding a full-time job teaching, she was always volunteering with the various organizations on base for the families. She was a busy woman and his leaving for up to fifteen more months was going to make things even more difficult for her._

"You're home," Vicky announced as she came out from the kitchen rubbing her hands on a towel. She didn't look happy.

"Hey. How much longer until we get our house back?" Beck jokingly asked playing with his hat that was in his hands.

"Tomorrow is the big day, but then we'll just be on to some other project. Mrs. Hoffman is always planning something or other," Vicky replied with a forced smile.

"Where's Megan?" Beck asked looking around their living room at the bags of candy and plastic eggs and wondering if his daughter was lost in the mess.

"She went camping with her Girl Scout troop," Vicky answered in a voice that bespoke that he should have already known the answer.

Ignoring his wife's obvious irritation, he went on, "So, we have the house to ourselves?" Beck asked mischievously. He moved seductively closer to his wife.

"Not really," Vicky informed him brushing him off as only a woman who had been married to the same man for nearly fifteen years could. "I've got a few of the ladies coming over to help finish filling these eggs." She headed back to the kitchen checking on the casserole she had cooking in the oven.

"Well, that dream was good for the brief second it lasted," Beck complained following her into the kitchen. He sat down on a chair at the table. "You left me a message saying you had some big news."

"I think you've got news for me too," Vicky replied giving him a knowing look.

"You already know I'm going to Iraq again, don't you?" Beck asked in exasperation.

"Well, the base isn't much more than a small town. What do you expect? Anyway, we knew it was bound to happen sooner or later."

"I'm sorry you had to hear it from someone else first."

"It's all right. I'm an old pro at this whole thing now anyway. Don't worry about Megan and I; we'll be just fine," Vicky half-heartedly assured. "We'll get through like we always do. You concentrate on what you have to do and we'll take care of things here."

"I thought you would be mad. Weren't you the one who was railing about the whole war in the first place?"

"I was for about a good half an hour, but then I realized it was just a waste of time. I may think that the war in Iraq is pointless, but it doesn't mean I don't support you. I knew what I was getting when I married you. No point is complaining now," Vicky replied giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Anyway, the person I feel bad for is you. You're the one who keeps missing out on everything."

"It's not like I want to," Beck insisted.

"I'm just afraid that in eleven years when your military career is over, you are going to find out that all you got was the military equivalent of a gold watch and not much else. Sometimes I think you forget what's really important."

"You knew what you were getting when you married me," Beck shot back defensively.

"I know you chose this life and I chose you. I am not complaining. I'm just doing what you told me to do a long time ago and remind you not to lose sight of what's really important, your kids."

"I get it. Vick, I promise that while I'm away I will stay in touch and I'll make sure that Megan knows even though I'm on the other side of the world, I still love her."

"That's all I want," Vicky replied.

"You used the word 'kids.' Last time I checked, we only had Megan," Beck asked knowing the answer before she even said it.

"I guess I'll just say it. I'm pregnant," Vicky admitted as she studied Beck trying to gauge his reaction.

"How did this happen?" he asked with little emotion.

"Don't tell me I'm going to have to give you 'the birds and the bees' speech," Vicky joked. "When a man and woman love each other very much…."

"Victoria be serious. I thought you were on the pill."

"I was, but I went on antibiotics last month for that sinus infection. I guess antibiotics cause the pill to be less effective. I read that on the internet last night."

"Great. So, I'm leaving the country for who knows how long and you are going to be back here having a baby by yourself," Beck explained more to himself than to Vicky. He wasn't particularly upset about the prospect of another child. It wasn't like he handled any of the childcare duties anyway. It was just that he didn't like to think about leaving his pregnant wife alone. She'd had complications when she had Megan because she was such a small woman and ended up having an emergency c-section. What if something happened this time?

"We'll get through, Ed. Just like we always do," Vicky replied.

"Here you go," the driver declared stopping in front of a farm outside of West Plains. "This is the Wentworth Farm."

The man's voice shook Beck from his memories. He looked out at the house wondering if he would find his wife and children there. He quickly looked in the side mirror scratching his beard. He knew he was giving Jake Green a run for his money in the scruffy department. He hadn't shaved in over a week and he was in desperate need of a hair cut. He hoped Jake Green was getting some sort of happy ending wherever he was. Beck still hadn't forgiven himself for his actions against the Rangers in Jericho. He had let anger and pride get in the way of seeing what was going on. Those men were good people put in a bad situation. He should have handled things different, but he was too stuck on following orders and getting ahead. Jericho had been the turning point for him. From that moment on, he vowed he would never blindly follow orders again. Now, it had brought him here.

"I've got to get going," the man urged.

"Sorry about that. Thanks once again for the ride," Beck replied as he opened the passenger door and got out to walk up the long drive.

"Well, Merry Christmas!" the man called out as Beck exited the car.

Beck threw his duffle bag over his shoulder. "You, too," Beck automatically replied having really not thought about the holiday. Beck closed the door and the man took off down the road to his destination. Beck had been lucky in meeting the man outside of the train station. He had asked for directions to the Wentworths', but had instead been offered a ride. The man indicated that he lived up the way, so hopefully Beck would have an opportunity to repay the kindness.

Beck shivered as the frosty air seeped through his military jacket. Beck had forgotten how cold December could be in Southern Missouri. Last Christmas, he'd been stuck on a base in Northern California. It had been downright balmy compared to the weather here.

Beck made his way up the driveway thankful that he had a jacket to keep him slightly warmer. A lot of people he'd seen on the bus to Missouri had not been as fortunate. Beck had given back most of his equipment when he had quit, but a few things they had let him keep. One was his military duffle bag which held all his worldly possessions and he'd kept his military jacket.

He turned away from the house for a moment and looked around at the hills that surrounded the farm. This part of Missouri was near the Ozarks and full of hills that could almost pass for mountains. A fog drifted through the air and light dusting of snow had fallen over the ground everywhere. Other than the grass and plants that stuck through the layer of snow, white seemed to surround him at every turn. There was a quiet stillness that layover the area that gave it an unearthly feeling. If it wasn't so darn cold, Beck would have thought he was in heaven as beautiful as it was.

Beck tried to think back to the last time he'd been there, but it had probably been more than a decade since he'd been to the farm. Then it had been spring and the whole area was smattered with green. He remembered the smell of new plants and freshly turned soil. The sky had been so blue that it made him think of the blue Caribbean waters of his mother's native Puerto Rico. He wished he had spent more time here. He had forgotten how much he liked it. Beck added that transgression to the list of his regrets.

Beck turned back toward the house and looked around. There was no one out in the yard, but it was obvious that people lived here. There were linens hanging on a line and livestock milling about in fenced yard outside the barn. The place looked well maintained compared to a lot of places he'd seen. The red painted barn looked in good repair along with the white farmhouse. It was Victorian in style or at least that was what Vicky had told him. Vicky had once told him that the house had been built by her great-great grandfather in the late 1800's, but other than the style, no one would think that it was that old.

He was almost to the house when a young pre-teen girl came out of the front door carrying a basket of clothes. She was bundled up in a large green overcoat. Beck immediately recognized her as his daughter, Megan. Her dark brown hair was blowing in the cold December breeze, getting her hair into her face. She didn't immediately see him standing there watching.

Beck started walking closer to her trying not to scare her. Finally, Megan looked in her father's direction. He was able to look into her dark brown eyes as it started registering with her that her father was there. "Daddy??" the girl tentatively asked almost afraid believe he was there.

"Meggie, it's me," he said taking a few steps forward. He took his time not wanting to frighten her.

"Daddy!" she exclaimed as she finally realized that he wasn't a ghost. She rushed to hug him and Beck dropped his duffle bag and threw his arms around his daughter embracing her in a big bear hug.

"Oh, do you know how much I missed you?" Beck asked as his daughter who had buried her head in his chest.

"I missed you too, Daddy," Megan muffled into his chest not wanting to leave his embrace.

After a few more moments, Beck finally got the courage to ask, "Where's your Mom?"

The excitement overwhelmed the young girl as she finally let go of her father. "Oh, Momma's inside making dinner. Oh, you haven't met Eddie yet either have you? This is going to be the best Christmas ever!" the girl exclaimed, so thrilled that her father had come back to her. Megan grabbed her father's hand and led him into the house leaving his duffle bag on the ground near the abandoned basket of clothes.

"Momma!" she called out as she entered the parlor of the farmhouse.

As Beck entered, he found the house was rather sadly quiet. The last time that he'd been there, Vicky's brothers and their families had been visiting. It was a couple of years before Megan was born, at Christmas time and you couldn't find a quiet place in the house. Now, it seemed that the house was almost empty. Like the exterior of the farm, the interior was well maintained. It looked the same as it had nearly a decade before almost sitting as a monument to the past, a place that didn't exist anymore. It reminded him of the old historic estates that Vicky had dragged him to in their spare time, filled with things, but no longer a home.

At least the home was warmer inside than he was expecting with the fireplace aglow. He noticed that there were no electric lights on anywhere that he could see. Only the light from the open windows and the glow of the fire lit up the room. He wondered if the electric lines to this part of Missouri had been repaired yet.

It was also concerning that there was no sign of the holiday anywhere to be seen. He had only seen the house once when it was decorated for Christmas. That year Vicky's mother had gone all out decorating every inch with some sort of garland or greenery. Now, there were no decorations or even a tree.

And the house was devoid of the constant chatter that usually dominated when he'd been there. Vicky's family had always been close and the neighbors had always come by during his view visits. Vicky had assured him that it was always this way, but he had the feeling that this mostly white bastion of Middle America was curious about the half-Puerto Rican man who had stolen the community's homecoming queen's heart.

"Meg, how many times do I have to tell you not to yell in the house? You'll wake the baby," a female voice admonished. Beck recognized it as belonging to his mother in-law. He looked to see the elderly woman sitting in a rocking chair holding an infant with dark curly hair. The woman looked older than he had remembered and had a sad weariness about her. Her wrinkled, haggard face lit up as she recognized the man before her. "Oh, my word! It's you're daddy!" the woman exclaimed breaking her own rule about keeping voices down. Beck looked at the woman concerned that she was about to have a heart attack or something as she was on the verge of hyperventilating.

"What is all the commotion? If you two don't let that baby sleep, I'll never get this dinner finished," a familiar voice quietly declared as a woman came in from the kitchen wiping her hands on the large calico apron she was wearing. The sleeves of her heavy brown sweater were rolled up. Beck studied the familiar face that once had smooth lively features that were now tired and worn. She narrowed her eyes studying him in return as her forehead wrinkled with worry.

It took a brief moment for it to register that Beck was staring at his wife and she looked just a shocked as he did. Silence fell as everyone in the room tried to figure out what to say. Megan was still holding Beck's hand. Mrs. Wentworth was still holding on to a sleeping Eddie. Vicky just stared at Beck like he was a ghost. "Ed, is that you?"

"It's me Vick," Beck answered with a nod. He gave her a half smile concerned about the reception he was going to receive. His stomach knotted as doubts began to build as to whether his wife would take him in after all this time. He had no illusions. He'd gotten what he'd asked for; he knew what had happened to his family. Anything more would be a dream come true.

Vicky tentatively walked up to her husband eventually putting a hand to his face. "Are you really here? Am I awake?" she asked studying his face as she rubbed his beard.

Beck closed his eyes and reveled in the touch of a familiar hand. "Vick, it's me. I'm really here and I'm not going anywhere anymore."

He let go of his daughter's hand and gathered his wife in his arms crushing her. Beck could feel sobs begin to rack her knowing that all of the worries and pain of the past year rushed to the surface. "It's okay. I'm here now," he assured her stroking her back. The knots in his stomach released as he lost himself in his wife's embrace.

"It's just that I never thought I'd see you again," she said into his shirt tears penetrating the fabric of Beck's shirt.

"I know. I'm sorry," Beck said looking beyond his wife to his daughter, letting her know that the apology was to both of them. He rubbed his face through her hair as he took in the familiar scent and tried to not start crying himself even though the tears were on the verge of coming. He whispered into her hair how much he loved her.

After a few more moments, Vicky finally pulled away from Beck wiping her face with her sleeves. Her eyes were red and puffy, but the smile on her lips was unmistakable and the veil of weariness that had strained her face had seemed to have lifted. "Do you have any idea how much I love you?" she asked staring into his eyes.

"Enough, that you put up with me all these years," Beck replied trying to lighten the mood. He gave her a light kiss on the lips knowing that he could not do much more with his daughter and mother in-law in the room.

A baby's cry startled the pair. "Well, I guess Eddie just wants to make his own introduction," Vicky declared as she crossed to where her mother was sitting and swooped up the crying baby. As soon as the year-old infant was in his mother's arms, he quieted down. "Ed, I would like you to meet your son, Edward Beck, Jr." Vicky held the baby out to Beck who took the child in his arms. The son and the father stared at each other for a moment both trying to figure out the other one. Beck reflexively started rocking the baby in his arms and within moments, Eddie was back to sleep.

"He's beautiful," Beck whispered to Vicky who now had her arm around Megan's shoulders as they both watched Beck with the baby.

"I know. He looks just like you," Vicky replied.

Vicky's mom gingerly got up from the rocking chair, "You come sit down here. It seems you've got baby watching duty now," the woman declared with a smile.

Beck knowing an order when heard one, sat down on the rocking chair with his son in his arms. He had never been so thankful in his life. He was surrounded by his family, a place he never thought he'd ever be again. He knew he'd remember this Christmas for the rest of his life.

The End.


End file.
